People have plastered their village with protest posters as they rally together to fight proposals for a “nightmare” housing estate.

People living in Upchurch are in uproar about a scheme to build 100 homes on an orchard behind Forge Lane and off The Street, and say it will see their village become a “small town”.

Croudace Homes first revealed its proposals for Upchurch, which is between Sittingbourne and Rainham and has a population of around 2,500, during a consultation meeting in March.

It is set to submit the plans - which would cover more than eight standard 11-a-side football pitches (13 acres) - to Swale council this summer.

While the project is in the “early stages,” the housebuilder says 30 of the new homes will be affordable, which is housing that is priced below market value making it more accessible to those on lower incomes.

A Croudace spokeswoman said: “Alongside the provision of much-needed new private and affordable housing, proposals also include an area reserved for community benefit, which we are recommending is utilised for car parking spaces to alleviate pressure on the roads during typically busy school drop-off and collection times.”

She added that the plans are subject to change.

But scores of residents are so outraged, they have put up signs protesting against the development.

A poster was distributed on social media which people could then print out. Many have put them in their windows, on street lamps and telegraph poles.

They read: “Orchards are for producing fruit. Say no to Croudace Homes, Street Farm Plans.”

One villager has started an online petition to stop the housebuilding. It has already been signed by almost 440 people.

Petition organiser and grandad of four David Meredith moved to Forge Lane from Strood around five years ago.

The former engineer, who worked at the BBC’s Broadcasting House in London, says he moved because he wanted to live in a village.

But the 71-year-old fears it could become a “little town” if the plans come to fruition.

He said: “We want to keep it as a village. The petition is about presenting that feeling.

“If you go around the village, you'll get the same response from most people that they don't want 100 houses built down here.

“The infrastructure is not built for it. There’s a waiting list at the local doctor's and at the school. It's just not feasible.”

Chris Reynolds, 75, signed the petition and has a poster in his window.

The former logistics manager, who has lived in Church Farm Road for more than 40 years, says there are no employment opportunities in Upchurch, meaning the new residents will have to travel to work.

He fears this could see his street used as a through road for commuters.

“We do need new homes [in the country],” he admitted, “but there is no work here.

“There’s a train station to London, but there is nothing else.

"The schools and doctors are full. The nursery is full. We cannot have any more homes. It will be a nightmare."

“There has already been so much housebuilding around here - look at Sittingbourne, Newington and Bobbing, which are all growing.

“Why can’t we start building away from London and North Kent, and build infrastructure and homes in places like Lincolnshire?”

Philip Simmons, who lives in an annexe at his daughter’s home in Forge Lane, is also behind the campaign against the construction of new homes at the site.

The 74-year-old grandad of five, who previously worked at Aeromet in Rochester, says he does not want to see the orchard built on and has put up a sign in the window of their home.

He said: “[The developers] are going to chop down the lovely fruit orchards we've got round the back.

“I didn't move here for houses to be built around the back of me.

“Upchurch was built as a quiet little village. But that'll be gone [if the plans are approved].”

Philip’s daughter, mum-of-one Emma Simmons, fears this application could be the start of wider housebuilding, which she says will clog up already congested roads.

There are already plans for 16 homes to be built in the field next to Holywell Primary School, which sits opposite the earmarked development.

The 50-year-old former NHS admin worker, who gave up her job to look after her parents, said: “When we first moved here 12 years ago, Forge Lane used to be quiet except for the school runs, but now it’s a through road.

“Traffic is just so bad going through Upchurch now. We are stuck here, especially when there’s a crash on one of the main roads. It’s a nightmare.

“The developers won’t stop once they have permission, and there’s so much building here already.”